LA MIRADA >> With its offense struggling to convert long drives into points, Upland used a dominant performance from its defense and a pair of third-quarter punt returns for touchdowns to pull away from La Mirada for a 35-7 victory Friday night.

The Highlanders (3-0) recorded 16 tackles for loss while holding the Matadores offense to just 130 total yards.

Taj Davis and Isaiah Banks returned punts for touchdowns of 63 and 40 yards, respectively, to lead a third-quarter effort in which the Highlanders outscored La Mirada 21-0 to break open a sluggish 7-7 tie at the half.

The Highlanders’ Tyevin Ford and quarterback Evan Rowe added rushing touchdowns in the second half to help the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 2 take firm control of the game.

La Mirada (0-4) used some trickery just before the half to tie the game at 7.

Puka Lauago’s 34-yard run on a fake punt set up a 16-yard touchdown run on a reverse from Austin Cook with 27 seconds remaining.

Lauago’s run accounted for 34 of the 70 total yards gained by the Matadores in the first half.

Upland drove to La Mirada’s 17- and 32-yard line on their first two possessions but both times were turned away as the Highlanders failed to convert on fourth down.

Upland opened the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run by Cameron Davis, which capped a seven-play, 62-yard drive.

The Matadores have lost eight consecutive regular season nonleague games, a streak that hasn’t been pretty, with La Mirada being outscored 292-41.

Few teams in Southern California have scheduled nonleague opponents as ambitiously as La Mirada. Early-season outcomes haven’t always predicted overall success, which was most notable in 2015 when the Matadores were outscored against Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, and San Clemente by a combined 119 points and still went on to win CIF and State championships.

La Mirada’s quest for its first win of the season won’t get any easier next week when the Matadores will be at Covina District Field to take on South Hills, the top-ranked team in CIF-SS Division 6.

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